Thursday, May 15, 2014

My Family Culture


 

MY FAMILY CULTURE

 

Having to relocate to another country with a culture completely different from your own can be interesting, exciting and scary all at the same time.  You will have to learn to accept another type of society and culture into your daily life.  You have to learn other points of view, make new friends, and accept various opinions, values and traditions. 

That being said, the three things that I would take with me would include: 

A description of the three items you would choose

 
1.    Family photo album – Family is important to me and this album holds many memories of the family throughout generations. 

2.    My wedding ring – It is a 12-carat wedding ring with sparking diamonds.   
 
3.    A family painting by my grandmother – A painting that my grandmother painted of my immediate family, very colorful and very beautiful at the age of 85 years old. 

How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you 

 
Family photo album - I would explain that family is important in my culture. We learn much from each other and we share joys as well as sorrows.  Even though family ties sometimes bring difficult challenges, they also give us strength and some of our greatest happiness. 

 
My wedding ring - I would explain that this ring is an ongoing reminder of the promise that my husband has made to me as well as the promise that God has made to both of us.

A family painting by my grandmother – I would explain that this painting was done by someone close to my heart and was given to husband and me on our first wedding anniversary.

 
Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you.

 
I would be very sad at first because these are the things closets to my heart besides my family.  I have come to realize that my family means more to me than anything else in the world, and everything else are only material things.

 
Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise.

 
I have come to realize even now than before that other than God, my family is one of the most important aspects of my life.  God willing, I will always be there when my children need me regardless of situations or circumstances.  I will teach my children to always respect and value all cultures no matter how different they are.  Every culture is importance and should be respected no matter what. 




 

 

 

6 comments:

  1. Kesha,
    I found this exercise very illuminating. It made me reconsider how I view cultural differences and made me consider how people not considered a part of the dominate culture must feel trying to integrate into a new culture. I agree that it might be exciting and interesting, yet I think that I skew more towards scary. I also found it interesting that we selected similar items to take with us. I feel that visual representations are important; however, if I had my family with me that would be enough.
    Thanks for your comments,
    Amanda

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    1. Hello Amanda

      Thank you for your very thoughtful comments.

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  2. Kesha,
    I found this assignment to be interesting-yet challenging. It made you stop and think, "What if this really were my fate?" "How would I handle myself?" I suspect that most of us would probably include photos to preserve the visual images that reflect each person's strong family history. Family is significant albeit negative or positive. They are an extension of who we are and how we respond to others. Having to make choices of items to retain really gives credence to the difficult decisions that others might feel who are faced with a similar dilemma.

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    1. Hello Tracey

      Fortunately I have never had to relocate to another country because I would have no idea what to do. I would be so afraid of how this new culture would treat my family and I. I would be worried the most for my children, especially if they were younger. The question you presented, "What if this really were my fate?" really gives you something to think about. Thank you for your thoughts and comments.

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  3. Losing things that you feel dear to would be really difficult for me. From this exercise I realized that I may be a little spoiled. It really will help you to look at things differently.

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  4. Hi Kesha,
    Your selections were very interesting and meaningful. I enjoyed reading about your ring and the deep meaning for you and your husband. This exercise really made me reflect on what is really important in life.

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